FCNL Supports Diplomatic Engagement with North Korea

FCNL applauds President Trump for agreeing to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in May. A summit alone is not a solution -- but it is a start.

The president deserves full praise for taking a chance that many other American leaders might not have. Still more thanks goes to South Korean President Moon Jae-in for his bold drive to push open space for dialogue where only insult, boast, and threat had reigned. President Moon knows how truly disastrous war would be. He has shown great courage in striving for the sustainable solutions for these challenges that ultimately only diplomacy and engagement can provide.

“A summit alone will not be a solution—but it can be a start. In the weeks up to and beyond this springtime of diplomacy, the United States must show even more of the courage that Presidents Trump and Moon have shown in seizing this opening. First and foremost the administration must repair and rebuild a State Department diplomatic infrastructure that has been hurt by so much neglect, derision, and retirement over the last year.

“America’s history of engagement with a formidable Soviet adversary and a once-forbidden China proves that a single summit or the first few meetings will not break down complex national security challenges that have been years in the making. Many disappointments, insults, and frustrations still lie ahead. The history, both in the recent past and long ago, of missed opportunities and derailed negotiations between the United States and North Korea should lead all of us in the United States to act quickly to support efforts to use the summit to lead to negotiations and then progress in reducing tensions on the Korean peninsula.

“That same history also shows that the United States can confidently look to diplomacy and engagement as an essential part of a smart, tough strategy to secure its long-term national interests while avoiding the cataclysm that a modern war of mass destruction would bring.

“For its part, Congress must support the drive for diplomacy backed by our South Korean allies because it holds the best chance to maximize America’s national security interests. We at FCNL are also urging Congress to pass legislation sponsored by Senator Murphy (S 2047) and Rep. Khanna (HR 4837) that makes clear in word and legislation that any choice to opt out of diplomacy and resort instead to war is a decision that Congress and the president must only make together.”

Anthony Wier

Legislative Secretary, Nuclear Disarmament and Pentagon Spending

Anthony is our lead lobbyist and the director of FCNL's work on nuclear weapons policy and is the key team leader working on our efforts to rein in Pentagon spending. He is also responsible for maintaining FCNL’s Nuclear Calendar and for representing FCNL with the various coalitions that work on these issues.